Laura has significant litigation experience, ranging from pre-suit risk assessment to dispositive motion practice to trial and appeal. In the torts and products liability realm, Laura currently represents a federal contractor in a defamation claim arising from false statements made anonymously by a competitor’s employee. Laura regularly writes about internet defamation, the First Amendment rights of anonymous speakers, anti-SLAPP statutes, and protecting reputations online. Laura also serves as national coordinating counsel to a bowling ball manufacturer for its asbestos docket. Laura has had a lead role in complex litigation managing discovery and fact investigation as well as preparing dispositive motions.

On the employment side, Laura applies her litigation background to counseling private employers and government contractors that aim to avoid litigation. Laura has addressed workplace issues relating to Title VII, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, and FLSA, as well as state anti-discrimination and wage and hour laws. Laura also advises employers and federal contractors about pay equity analyses, affirmative action programs, and compliance with Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs requirements. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Laura practiced employee benefits litigation and arbitration, including handling withdrawal liability and fiduciary issues arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended by the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act.

Laura's courtroom experience includes:

First-chairing an evidentiary hearing in a highly-contested dispute regarding the novel issue of whether any portion of a debtor’s $78 million withdrawal liability under ERISA is entitled to administrative priority under the Bankruptcy Code.

Participating in a two-week bench trial before a federal district court in Arizona representing an Indian tribe in a land dispute, which resulted in successfully preventing an individual from commercially developing a parcel landlocked within the reservation.

Independently defending claims in Texas against a magazine distributor whose assets had been assigned for the benefit of creditors in Tennessee, which included arguing a motion to stay the Texas action based on policies that favor allowing insolvency proceedings in Tennessee to continue unhindered.

Laura graduated from the University of Texas School of Law, with honors, in 2004. At Texas, Laura was an associate editor for The Review of Litigation. Laura also attended Texas for her undergraduate degree, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her B.A. in government with a minor in journalism, with high honors, in 2000.

Affiliations

Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.